News /
2019

On Wednesday, September 11, 2019, the president of the United States announced that “as a gesture of good will” the United States will delay the 5% increase in tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports originally scheduled for October 1, 2019. The increase is now scheduled for October 15, 2019.

Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports reached unusually high numbers just before new tariffs on goods from China took effect September 1, and are expected to surge again before another round of tariffs takes effect in December, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in August, and the overall economy grew for the 124th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM®Report On Business®.

Hurricane Dorian continues to wreak havoc in the Bahamas today. The storm is expected to move toward the east coast of Florida and continue on a northward offshore path along the southeast coast of the United States during the next several days. For more details regarding weather forecasts, please refer to:

The National Weather Service has issued hurricane advisories for several areas in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean related to Hurricane Dorian. Hurricane Dorian now threatens the southeast USA, including Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas over the weekend. The exact path of the storm is uncertain at this time. Companies and residents are encouraged to closely monitor the forecast in these areas and take appropriate measures.

On August 2, 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a Federal Register Notice announcing that CBP is adjusting certain customs user fees pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) for Fiscal Year 2020 in accordance with the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) as implemented by CBP regulations.